Puppet Strings
by jadedleopard
Summary: She stared down at her hands. They looked real. She wiggled her fingers. They felt real too. Shouldn't she be able to tell they weren't real? If she wasn't real? The four times Dawn was kinda glad Spike was around  and the one time she really wasn't .


Title: The Four Times Dawn Was Kinda Glad Spike Was Around (and the one time she really wasn't).

Fandom: BtVS, Stargate SG-1

Pairing: Dawn/Clone!Jack

Rating: PG

Prompt: 5 Things Challenge at fantasyverse livejournal

Summary: She stared down at her hands. They looked real. She wiggled her fingers. They felt real too. Shouldn't she be able to tell they weren't real? If she wasn't real?

Notes: K, so this is part of my puppet strings verse (check the +puppet strings tag on my livejournal) where Dawn runs away during the summer after 'The Gift'. Well it's actually an AU since in Puppet Strings Spike wasn't there and it got really dark.

_01. Keep me locked up in this cage, can't you see this is why I rage_

"Huh, I guess that's you niblet"

He sounded so unconcerned by it. Like finding out she's this fake... key was just another day in the life of Slayer and her friends. She stared down at her hands. They looked real. She wiggled her fingers. They felt real too. Shouldn't she be able to tell they weren't real? If she wasn't real?

"If you're done with the jazz hands I'd say it's time to get you home bit," Spike said, knocking her out of her dazed state. She stayed quiet, letting him lead her home while he talked about it was a shame that they couldn't very well hock the key now that they knew it was her and how silly it seemed to him that they had thought to hide this from them. He left her at the backdoor with instructions not to go sneaking out after dark anymore or at least not alone. As he walked away she looked down at her arms. She had to be real right? She couldn't be a thing.

_02. With all emotion set aside in a whisper say goodbye_

From the bottom of the tower she stared out to where her sister's body lay. She looked so peaceful, like a princess awaiting her true love's kiss. The next few hours seem to pass in a haze. She remembered Giles taking charge and getting Xander and Anya to help Spike get out of the sun, and Willow and Tara guiding her home. She had curled up on Buffy's bed with Mr. Gordo and cried; the scoobies had all taken a turn trying to comfort her, tell her how everything would be okay and that they would take care of her. When Spike's turn came up he just climbed into the bed behind her and stroked her hair, not speaking at all. She had lost track of how long he had been there when he leaned over and kissed the top of her head.

"I'm so very sorry niblet," he whispered into her hair. The grief evident in his voice started her crying all over again and she rolled over and buried her face into his chest. He just wrapped his arms around her and held her till she finally fell asleep.

_03. And I'm trying to live my life on my own, but I won't, no_

Dawn stepped off the bus and looked around at her new home. Colorado Springs seemed like a good place to start her new life. She fiddled with the amulet hanging around her neck that shielded her from magical scrying and hoped Willow wouldn't be too worried about not being able to find her; she'd left a note explaining that she just needed some time to figure out her life without Buffy. This was her chance to leave it all behind, to move past the death of her sister on her own terms, to live life her way and damn it all to hell she was not about to acknowledge just how much better she felt after she happen to glimpse a blond haired vampire in a long leather coat out of the corner of her eye.

_04. It's like we're going through the motions of a scripted destiny_

When she decided she was going to strike out on her own she hadn't given much thought to where she was going to get money from. Jobs couldn't be that hard to get she had thought, and she remembered hearing how Buffy had taken a job as a waitress during that one summer.

God real life was so much less glamorous then in her imagination. Here she was walking home from her third twelve hour day in a row. Not that she was complaining too much, she had good tippers today and that hot guy was in again. Jon... something; always seemed to sit in her section. Speaking of which.

"You can come out now; I know you're back there." She called out to the darkness. Okay, so she didn't really know if he was there, but living in Sunnydale had given her a sixth sense about these things and she was pretty sure Spike was back there too since she had chewed him out for 'randomly bumping into her' on her way home three nights in a row last week.

"You know you would have looked kinda silly if no one was here, right?" Hot-Guy Jon Something quipped as he stepped out of the shadows.

She stuck her tongue out at him and replied, "Of course not cause if no one was there, there wouldn't be anyone to think I looked silly." She looked him up and down, "so make with the 'scuses. Bringing me my wallet I dropped? Or were you just making sure a 'sweet girl' like me made it home safe and sound?"

"I'd say it would depend on which answer would get you to have coffee with me tomorrow, but as I would have to pick your pocket for it to be option A, I think I'll have to go with B and take my chances." he said with a slightly guilty, and definitely flirty smile.

She tapped her finger on her chin and pretended to think about it. "Hmmm I guess I should reward such chivalrous behavior..." She trailed off as Spike stepped out of the same shadowy alley Hot-Guy Jon Something came out of. He followed her gaze over her shoulder and came face to face with a rather intimidating Spike.

"This guy bothering you bit?" Spike asked, not taking his eyes off Jon.

Oh god, she had to defuse this now, because unless she was sorely mistaken Jon (she was pretty sure his name was Jon) had slipped into a defensive stance.

She stomped over and placed herself between them. "No, Spike. He's not. He asked me to join him for coffee. You don't get to go all 'grr arg scary dad' until the third date!" She poked him in chest as if to make her point.

Spike just raised an eyebrow before turning around and walking back into the alley, his voice echoing back "Fine, but if you end up dead in a gutter I'm ripping your boy toy's spine out and using it for a coat rack."

"Grr arg scary dad?" Oh good. He sounded amused, not scared.

"It's a long story. Tell you about it over coffee?" She asked with a hopeful grin.

"Sounds like a plan."

_05. In another place, in another time_

Dawn sighed as Jon and his 'Uncle' started in on round four. Apparently he didn't approve of her or something. She wasn't really sure what his deal was since he mostly just waved his hand in her direction instead of saying it. On the plus side it gave her time to size up this Jack guy, no way he was an uncle though. She looked back and forth between the two gauging eye colors, cheekbones, hell their nostrils even flared the same way. An idea came to her suddenly and she decided she was way to sober for this.

"Getting a drink, don't mind me" she called out as she headed for the fridge to grab a beer. She heard Jack ask Jon if she was even old enough to drink yet and she knew she was right. Oh god, could her life get any weirder... Well if she was right Jon's life might actually be, so. Crap.

She heard the front door open and close so she peeked around the corner and saw Spike having a glaring contest with both Jack and Jon.

"Spike! You're just in time, c'mon I need your help with something" she exclaimed running over and grabbing his arm. She dragged him back into the kitchen with her and could hear a loud 'and who the hell is Spike?' from the other room.

"Niblet, what's going on in there?" Spike asked.

"I'll explain later. Did you notice if they smelled the same?" She asked hurriedly.

He vamped out and took a deep breath. "Yeah, they do" He looked back at her shifting back to his human face. "What did you get yourself into luv?"

"Nothing too bad I don't think. Just stay in here for a sec." She said, thankful she had Spike to back-up her theory, cause to be honest if she said something and was wrong they'd think she was crazy.

Taking a deep breath to steel herself, she stomped into the living room, placing her hands on her hips and yelled "That's ENOUGH!" She took a moment to look both of them in the eyes before focusing on Jack. "I'm not too young for him, he's not too old for me, and I'm actually kinda thrilled he's your clone 'cause you're totally hot for an old guy."

After a moment of stunned silence Jack turned to Jon. "You told her? Does classified mean nothing to you?"

"He didn't tell me anything. All I had to do was look at the two of you. Although your constant remarks about my age compared to him when it appears to be the same were a bit of a clue." She stated rolling her eyes. "Anyway I have a feeling this is going to take a while, so who wants a beer?"


End file.
